Halloween Shenanigans

Tonight was pretty fun. Everyone arrived at our house at about 6:30 for pictures. All the kids (and some of the parents) looked awesome! We had two Dorothys, two Glindas, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, a flying monkey, the Wicked Witch of the East, Auntie Em and Uncle Henry, and the Wizard (who opted out of pictures)(actually his costume couldn't fit in the door). Erin was supposed to be Toto but she was SUPER tired and cried from 5:45 on so I did not dress her up.

We started out just when it was getting dark and most houses did not have their porch lights on yet. We got about 3 houses down and Leah started dragging behind because her shoes were too big. She was having a hard time walking in them. Mike was also dragging behind because his costume kept falling apart. So, with Erin in the wrap, I carried Leah several houses. I was so irritated with Mike at this point because I had suggested that he not dress up considering he just got it all put together tonight at 6pm. My irritation was a little irrational, I admit. I was just frustrated that I needed his help with the kids and he was more worried about his costume. At that point, I decided to go home and get the stroller for Leah to ride in between houses and that worked pretty well. Then Erin, who had fallen asleep in the wrap, woke up crying again. So I decided to just go home and put her to bed. Mike took Leah around for another half hour, then they called it a night too.

A little while later, while sorting through and sampling candy, something happened that broke my heart a little. Mike and I were bickering back & forth over something really stupid. Leah was standing next to me. After listening to it for a minute, she said, "Mommy, leave Daddy alone." All at once, I remembered what it was like to be a kid and hear your parents argue. It was such an awful feeling, I never wanted my kids to go through it. I know that is not entirely possible, AND what Mike & I were doing was NOTHING like what I lived with as a kid. But still, I felt so guilty. Then she sat in my lap and hugged me and said "I love you, Mom." Crack, crack, now do you hear my heart breaking?